How Social Media benefits Project Management

The advent of social media platforms has had an impact on society as a whole and organisations in general. Just a few years ago using social media for project management might not have seemed effective for the delivery of projects, recently this has changed. As the use of social media has opened possibilities for businesses of all sizes and types to enhance communication and collaboration, which are two of the most crucial drivers in project management.

Communication is the core of project management; it should flow quickly to the right people at the right time. Increasing number of team members, clients, and stakeholders are working from different geographical locations and different time zones. Therefore, project managers have to look for ways to maintain seamless communication among all those who are involved in a project.

In this context, social media can prove to be a great binding force that enables people to share ideas, information, feedback, videos, personal messages, etc. All social media platforms provide a quick and reliable platform for users to be on the same page and collaborate to achieve set targets.

There are undeniable benefits in using social media for project management with its ability to connect seamlessly. Social media has brought the world closer together through its range of features that can help to simplify complex project management.

Those benefits to project management can be used in multiple ways, such as; 

1. Communication Management

Popular social media platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Quora, and even WhatsApp are today widely accessed by professionals and public alike. These platforms are easy to use and available 24 by 7, which enables users to communicate without any time restrictions.

A project manager and their staff can leverage one or more social media platforms to support such a high level of communication. Social media apps have inbuilt features like audio calling, video calling, and text-based secure messaging. These communication modes can be used by team members for sharing and updating project-related information.

2. Project Updates

Social media has a huge and diverse user base and its agility of information can play a determining role in the management of project updates. Large and complex projects, especially, call for updating the right people at the right time, which is not a straightforward task.

Social media platforms can empower project managers and their teams to add efficiency to their updates management. These updates can be about tasks and project progress, issues faced, potential resolutions, team building activities, milestones, decision-making meetings, etc.

3. Training and Learning Management

One of the key areas where social media could be of great use in the project management is the management of training and learning given to team members during the project. Lessons learned during the project can often get buried under paperwork, and most people do not take much interest in retrieving them.

Social media enables project managers and organizations to collect and store this vital piece of information through the active involvement of all participants. This information can be easily accessed, shared, and used by people for improving the quality of next projects by reducing risks.

4. Issues Management

Issues management often involves several team members and speedy actions. Therefore, involving the right people in time becomes crucial to mitigate the negative effects of issues arising within the project. Social media is an ideal tool to distribute information to selected people that are involved in a particular issue(s) management.

The information distribution could be for many purposes, which depend on the level of involvement, like:

• Keeping informed and involved considering seniority and managerial position
• People who are responsible for troubleshooting the issue
• Experts whose inputs are sought on managing the arising issues
• For capturing the learned lessons as a result of emerging issues
• For updating the risk management and project plans.

5. Financial Savings

For SMEs, financial savings are of paramount importance. Social media can help small and medium-sized businesses in saving money by minimizing the costs of traveling, communication (phone bills), and even accommodation.

Video conferencing systems allow team members working from different locations to be on a common platform and exchange information and ideas without having to travel to attend group meetings.

Social media has evolved from merely being a social interaction tool to a comprehensive and collaborative platform. It’s amazing how various social media platforms can help project management teams to be on the same page through swift and efficient communication, file sharing, collaboration, and much more. Let us know how or if you use social media as a tool to delivery projects, we would like to hear from you, all the best on your project management journey.